


Mad About Miss Parker

by kattabaker (katttewks)



Category: The Pretender
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-14
Updated: 2015-05-14
Packaged: 2018-03-30 11:31:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3935218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katttewks/pseuds/kattabaker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Just some drabbles that I'm unearthing.</p>
    </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just some drabbles that I'm unearthing.

Mad About Miss Parker-Pretender drabble

The video was in the sale rack and Jarod seldom shopped sales on the Centre’s dime. The title caught his attention, so he picked it up to take a closer look. “Mad About the Mouse”, hmmm. Jarod was long past his early days of innocence; he knew what mouse they were talking about. He had a bit of a surprise a couple of years ago-- he picked up a video that he thought was a parody of a popular TV show and discovered that the porn industry liked to name their videos similarly. The video hadn’t been well acted; he’d been pretty disappointed. Though he could see the appeal, it was just a little too easy to ‘pretend’ himself into the film. There had been a leggy brunette in that video too; watching her had made him feel guilty somehow. He should stick with Disney. Actually, he found that he liked Bugs Bunny better, he thought Bugs would have made a good Pretender. Yes, it sounded like a good tape. He loved listening to Bobby McFerrin, he looked forward to seeing him, though he wasn’t quite sure why he was singing about cats, that particular movie must have missed him.

All in all, he thought, a good day. The pretend went off perfectly, and Lyle was the one with egg on his face, literally. Since the events of the island, he had been very careful to keep Miss Parker out of the line of fire. Which meant no more midnight calls to hear her voice and drop some hint. All his clues were dropped in front of Lyle, so Lyle caught the blame when they went wrong. He’d feed just enough to keep her involved, but not enough to endanger her. It was a fine balance, and one that was beginning to wear him down. He missed her. The sound of her voice, her face, her walk. Some days he’d almost sell his soul to see her smile. Definitely time for a video. And not that one that he had bought by mistake, and kept, almost in secret. Disney time. 

What fun, he thought. He liked The Cars very much, and Paula was a real plus. He didn’t know the rapper, but watching him do “Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad, Wolf” cracked him up. Harry Connick Jr. was next; maybe he should skip to Bobby McFaren. The remote fell from his nerveless hand, the shock making the screen swim before his eyes. Two steps had him pressed against the TV screen reaching out as if to touch her. Because it was her, without a doubt, Miss Parker. Smiling with a joy he’d never seen before, not even when she was with Tommy. He couldn’t step away; he rewound the tape at the VCR and played the short song again. And again. And again. The sight of her long legs and flashing smile aroused him more than he thought possible, warring with a jealous rage, wondering who could have put THAT smile on her face. 

Later that night, as he watched the downloaded scene on his laptop, he reached for the phone. He wasn’t sure what to say, he just wanted to hear the sound of her voice.

Her muffled “what” came out soft and sleepy, in almost a moan. He didn’t think it was possible to be harder, but it had been so long since he touched her. One hand caressed the screen while the other cradled the phone.

“I’m sorry I woke you”, he said softly.

“Jarod?” her voice was still gentle and he marveled at the sound. 

When he didn’t answer, she continued, “Are you ok?”

“Yes, just thought I’d call an old friend.” 

“Do you know any?” but her voice was light and teasing. 

“Will you dance with me? Someday?” He wasn’t even sure he had spoken the words out loud, but her gasp confirmed it.

She was quiet for several moments, then asked him how the pretend had gone.

“I had fun, but I don’t think Lyle had a good time.” Her giggle delighted him, he really liked this softer Parker. He could almost picture her lying in bed talking to him. Hmm, maybe that wasn’t such a good idea, his libido reminded him. 

“Can you sleep now Jarod?” Her question surprised him, but he actually thought he could. If anyone could understand the demons that disturbed his sleep, it was Parker.

“Yes, thanks”

“Jarod”

“Yes?”

“Someday”

The dial tone was almost a relief, he didn’t think he would have been able to respond.

Someday.

The thought gave him comfort, and he drifted into dreams of dancing and soft laughter.


	2. Chapter 2

It was, Jarod realized, his first ticket. And the police officer held his real driver’s license. He had gone ahead and gotten a Delaware license. After all, his father had given him his real birth certificate and it seemed fitting to get one from Delaware. He hadn’t taken any chances; he had entered a worm into the DMV computer that deleted any reported infractions to keep the Centre from getting him arrested under his real name. Perhaps he should leave the speeding ticket, send a message to anyone and everyone that, barring any weird prophecies, he knew who he was. He was still unsure about the whole scrolls thing, it was as nutty as the whole “man in the blue suit” crap. The Centre might be filled with power-hungry killers, but he was beginning to believe that they were just this side of loony.

“Thank you officer, I’ll try to keep a better eye on what I’m doing.” 

Jarod was embarrassed, he’d been thinking about what a normal guy he’d become and rolled right through the light. A normal guy indeed! 

Lately he’d been wondering what he wanted to do with himself after the Centre was blown straight to hell, besides dragging Miss Parker to the nearest judge and giving her another name besides Parker. And then the two of them spending a week in bed. He had such an odd collection of family now: Sydney, Broots and Debbie, Angelo, his dad, his mom, his half-brother, his sister and his clone. He’d better get a big house. And a really good job. His favorite pretend had been as a doctor. It would be nice to find some small town, perhaps near an ocean, and be the town doctor. Washington state, or Oregon, he liked the slower pace there. A practice in the house, so he could still cook dinner. He’d like that. What would his new wife do though? Perhaps he could suggest the program that salvaged endangered languages; she loved learning languages and spoke more than he did. Maybe she could also have a small dance studio, somewhere to bring the kids when they had them. He knew she loved children, but refused to dream she could have any of her own. He wanted to give her all the things she wouldn’t let herself dream about. He stared at the pictures in his wallet; the familiar one of his mother was now joined by a picture of a smiling Miss Parker. Just like a normal guy, he had pictures of women who loved him. And someday, he would be with the both of them. Someday.


	3. Chapter 3

“Fuck!” she swore. It had been a hellish day, Raines had hounded her, the Africans had been stalking the halls all day and Lyle had up ended covered in shit. Literally. How did Jarod do that? Since the Island of Weirdness, he had managed to cover Lyle in every nasty substance known to man. She had taken to carrying surgical gloves when she had to go rescue him; she never knew what he’d end up in. She needed a drink, a very large drink. But the alcohol had been disappearing from her house as fast as she could buy it, with a snotty note about how it wasn’t good for her ulcer. Damn that man! Every muscle in her body screamed in pain, and he kept stealing the vices that she used to cope. She didn’t dare complain to Raines, she knew he’d use her as bait to catch Jarod if he knew what Jarod’s feelings for her were. And Raines wouldn’t care what happened to her after. He might even turn her over to her slimy brother. What a lovely thought for the end of her day. She’ll probably have nightmares all weekend. Mmm, it smells nice in here. Yeah, Jarod strikes again, dinner in the oven and her favorite dessert in the fridge. Sometimes, late at night, she allows herself to dream that one day she’ll come home, Jarod will be there, cooking dinner, and it will be her real life. Normal. Yes, she really wanted normal. Normal would include a long bath, something she could give herself now. How did he get it done in one day? She had been in this very bathroom at 6am; he must have started pulling the old tub and installing the new one before her car had left her street. It was even ready to use. He had prepped it with her favorite bath salts, all she had to do was to turn on the water. Big enough for two, what did he have in mind? Umm, better than scotch. New robe too. Didn’t he like the other one? Her life had gotten so twisted; she didn’t even ask questions any more. He never spoke of his visits to her house; perhaps he knew that if she could pretend that she didn’t know about them, she could enjoy what he gave her. 

Dinner was wonderful, as usual. She wondered when he had learned; she couldn’t remember a pretend, and she wouldn’t allow herself to wonder if he had learned for her. The basket of apples was interesting; she wasn’t sure what he was trying to say. She also wasn’t sure what he intended with the article about the program to salvage disappearing languages. Could he have remembered how much she loved studying languages? She had read about this program before, even thought about how much she’d love to be involved, but she had realized that there would be no real job for her. No normal life. Why didn’t Jarod understand that? There would be no “Someday!” There would only be the daily descent into hell. Let Jarod hope; he’d gotten out. She was still here, trapped by fear. Fear for Broots and Debbie, for Angelo, for Sydney, for herself. Hell, she was still trying to find Bridget’s baby! It had taken her so long to get over her feelings of abandonment when Jarod left, leaving her behind. She knew that while the Centre existed, she would never be free. If Jarod had spent a little more time trying to take down the Centre, and less torturing her for chasing him, they might all be better off. For a genius, he could be an idiot. He’d been luckier than he realized in those early days; she had been so enraged, that she had almost shot Nina. It had been the first time she allowed herself to acknowledge that her motives for finding Jarod were… mixed. Strangely, she hadn’t been threatened by Zoe, she’d had enough rebound relationships to recognize one. She was glad that Zoe was better, but she was also glad it was over. Thomas made her feel guilty sometimes, she had loved him deeply, but she had always loved Jarod more. Not a good basis for a committed relationship, and it was one of the reasons she had resisted. That, and she had worried that loving her was going to get him killed. And she’d been right, hadn’t she. What chance did she and Jarod have, they were both targets. Damn, she really needed that drink. Might as well go to bed, there would be no other refuge for her tonight.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been another long day, and she was tired. Syd have gone on vacation of all things, she hated it when he was gone. Deep down she knew he’d step in front of a bullet for her, she always felt safer when he was there. Broots would do his best, but Sydney was a lot more capable of violence. She still had the occasional moment when she wanted his autograph for trying to shot Raines. She knew he had done it for Jarod, but he had also done it for her. He had a kind of Jekyll and Hyde thing going, believing in the sanctity of life, but totally willing to take out the bad guys. She had always respected him, but loyalty to her father had kept her silent. Perhaps she should tell him, “Sydney, you were more of a father to me than my own father. It’s too bad you always loved Jarod more.” Yeah, that would be such a good idea! Wonder if there was anything to drink. Or smoke. Hmm, not even dinner, should she feel neglected, or worried? Jarod is probable having dinner with Sydney right now, leaving her to make due with Ben and Jerry’s. Now that was a totally depressing thought. Maybe there was something mindless on the boob tube. The Wedding Planner? What kind of mindless drivel would this be? Hell, she didn’t have anything else to do. Sometimes she missed giving up her friends, even when she was at Corporate she had women that she hung out with. After the finding out that the Centre had controlled her to the point of picking her first lover, she had let the friendships drop, never quiet sure if her girlfriends because they liked her, or if they belonged to Raines. Now she was surrounded by men, and she suffered the lack of her own kind. She suspected that it had affected her perception, not having a women who would always take her side and kick her in the butt when she needed it. Well, it looks like it’s going to be a movie. She just hoped it didn’t suck. 

Being without girlfriends really sucked sometimes, she’d love the chance to compare notes on “chick films”. This one had been all right, a little lame perhaps. Her favorite in the last few years had been “French Kiss”. Not only did she love Kevin Klein; the kiss at the end was on of the best she had ever seen. The deeply flawed good guy had a certain appeal to her. And Meg was great, Kevin helped but in the end, Meg rescued them both. Just like she should do, quit waiting on Jarod to take down the Center and do it herself. She felt like she’d been shot, again. There is a moment of shock before the pain rushes in, she felt that shock now. Why not, she asked herself, the Center had almost completely discarded her, Jarod was out there running around and attracting all the attention, she was inside, she was also a genius and she knew where to hit them to hurt the most. Amsterdam is beautiful year round but the world court doesn’t give prisoners a room with a view. If she planned well, anything out of place could be attributed to Jarod. She might be able to warn him after a while, too soon and he’d try to stop her to protect her. Or he’d decide he could plan something better, he regularly forgot she was a red file too. She had gotten in the habit of forgetting too, no girlfriend around to kick her butt and tell her to take back her destiny. Well, time to make a change and stop waiting for someday.


End file.
